ISSN: 0022-1198
Published Online: 6 April 2005
Page Count: 7

Forensic Casework Analysis Using the HVI/HVII mtDNA Linear Array Assay
Divne, A-M
Uppsala University, Department of Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory,

Calloway, C
Roche Molecular Systems, CA

Erlich, H
Roche Molecular Systems, CA

Allen, M
Uppsala University, Department of Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory,

Nilsson, M
Uppsala University, Department of Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory,

Reynolds, R
Roche Molecular Systems, CA

(Received 30 November 2004; accepted 9 January 2005)

Abstract

The mitochondrial hypervariable regions I and II have proven to be a useful target for analysis of forensic materials, in which the amount of DNA is limited or highly degraded. Conventional mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing can be time-consuming and expensive, limitations that can be minimized using a faster and less expensive typing assay.We have evaluated the exclusion capacity of the linear array mtDNA HVI/HVII region-sequence typing assay (Roche Applied Science) in 16 forensic cases comprising 90 samples. Using the HVI/HVII mtDNA linear array, 56% of the samples were excluded and thus less than half of the samples require further sequencing due to a match or inconclusive results. Of all the samples that were excluded by sequence analysis, 79% could be excluded using the HVI/HVII linear array alone. Using the HVI/HVII mtDNA linear array assay, we demonstrate the potential to decrease sequencing efforts substantially and thereby reduce the cost and the turn-around time in casework analysis.

Keywords:
mtDNA, D-loop, immobilized SSO probe assay, linear array mtDNA HVI/HVII region-sequence typing

Paper ID: JFS2004505
DOI: 10.1520/JFS2004505
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